The world’s leading suicide intervention skills training program.
Trusted by professionals, approved by the World Health Organisation and learnable by anyone, LivingWorks Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is the only workshop of its kind.
Updated continually to reflect new knowledge, LivingWorks ASIST has been training people to provide suicide first aid interventions for 40 years.
Two knowledgeable, supportive trainers will guide you through the course, ensuring a comfortable and safe learning environment.
LivingWorks ASIST has 40 years of research and evidence behind it. More than 50 peer-reviewed studies and government reports on LivingWorks ASIST have found:
People count on LivingWorks training to build safer communities and workplaces. Thatʼs why weʼre committed to offering programs that are tested, proven, and evidence based. With over 50 peer-reviewed studies and government reports validating the impact of our programs, we have the most robust evidence base in the suicide prevention training field. LivingWorks ASIST is the gold standard suicide intervention skills course across the globe.
LivingWorks ASIST participants contribute to safer communities and workplaces by providing life-changing suicide first aid interventions. They’re a vital resource that participants in connector programs—such as LivingWorks Start and LivingWorks safeTALK—can call to help others.
LivingWorks ASIST workshops can be arranged for your organisation or group, tailored to the needs of your staff, volunteers or members. Our training team can support you with workshop logistics, promotion and a tailored training experience that fits with your existing suicide prevention initiatives or priorities.
Our team can work with you to help you find the best training solution. If you still have questions after reading the information on this page and the frequently asked questions below, please contact us and one of our team will be in touch.
Most people who die by suicide (in particular young people and men) are not in the healthcare system. Therefore when they are thinking about suicide, they are at home, in the workplace and/or community. This means we need a whole-of-community approach to protect them from suicide.
It is estimated that each year, more than 700,000 people die by suicide. Evidence tells us family, friends, and coworkers are the people best placed to notice when someone is having thoughts of suicide and to provide support and refer them to crisis services. However, research also indicates that suicide-related knowledge and confidence to intervene is really lacking in the community. This is why LivingWorks has dedicated the last 40 years to empowering communities with the knowledge and confidence they need to intervene through our skills training.
Everyone over the age of 16 years who wants to help keep the people around them safe from suicide should attend.
ASIST workshops are provided by registered LivingWorks trainers. In order to facilitate the workshop, trainers must attend an ASIST Training for Trainers (T4T) and extensively study the program. They must also participate in a rigorous quality control process and maintain their skills by presenting ASIST workshops on a regular basis. We can also identify specific trainers within your sector/discipline/region if required.
Although safeTALK and ASIST are separate programs, they are designed to complement each other. The two-day ASIST workshop provides skills to intervene with someone who may be having thoughts of suicide, helping them feel less overwhelmed and perhaps most importantly, the ASIST model also involves creating a safety plan with the person help them keep safe, access help and find hope.
It would not be possible to learn and practice all of the ASIST skills in safeTALK’s half-day timeframe, although many who attend safeTALK later decide to take ASIST. What safeTALK does do is help participants identify people who may be having thoughts of suicide, confidently ask them about the topic of suicide, and connect them with resources that can help keep them safe. This might be a professional caregiver or someone trained in ASIST—often, they’re one and the same! By providing a connection to intervention resources, safeTALK offers an important avenue to assistance when people need it most.
Many communities and organisations use both safeTALK and ASIST. By working in concert, people with safeTALK and ASIST training create a larger, more effective network of safety.
LivingWorks ASIST is run strictly face-to-face. If you are looking for an online option, please consider our program LivingWorks Start.
If you have lost your LivingWorks certification of completion for your LivingWorks safeTALK, LivingWorks ASIST, or LivingWorks suicide to Hope training, we can replace it for you. Click here to fill out the replacement form.
“ASIST has been the most significant and practical training I have ever received for my job as an educator of young people.”
“I was completely engaged for the entire 2 days. I didn’t know what to expect and didn’t have an understanding of why it would take 2 full days to be trained in this. I realise now the depth of understanding required and the need for an appropriate and safe response for a person having thoughts of suicide. The practice was really helpful but definitely nerve wracking. I will be recommending this to all of my work colleagues and any others I believe it would be helpful for”
“I think this training has been invaluable. So much so this is the second time I’ve completed the course! I find that the model (PAL) works (I’ve used it several times) and the language gave me confidence in my intervention and in knowing I was on the right track”
“As an administrator I attend a great many workshops, conferences & training sessions. This has been by far the most relevant and practical and been engaged start to finish with real world applications”
Please fill out the form below to receive information about hosting a private face to face workshop for your organisation/community group, or receiving a set of Start online training licenses.
In LivingWorks safeTALK you will learn how to reach out to someone thinking about suicide and help them keep safe by promptly connecting them to further support. Your role as a connector is the main focus of this training, which features:
